Yuren did not break her promise. She was just standing her ground, leading dozens of dragons. As the dragons began to stir, the Racial Alliance couldn’t help but feel tense.
From the Racial Alliance’s perspective, the dragons were the most reliable allies. Yet, they were also a source of fear. To put it bluntly, if they offended the dragons, they might find themselves in a hot mess.
That’s why the high-ranking officials of the Racial Alliance preferred the dragons to remain passive as they were now. If they poked their noses into everything, it would make things difficult. And up until now, that’s how it had been.
The reason the dragons acted almost passively was due to past experiences. In the past, the dragons had lived up to their title as the Race of Benevolence, looking after each race one by one.
They even manipulated the weather, helped with farming, and passed down skills. They acted almost like servants. But the dragons found happiness in merely helping other races.
However, the cost was eventually paid not by the dragons but by the very races they aided. Those who had been living in a perfect paradise created by dragons began to grow lazy.
And then it happened. The dragons sank into a deep sleep cycle. While the dragons were a race that lived forever, they occasionally fell into a sleep so deep, they seemed almost dead.
That was the dragons’ sleep cycle. Without the dragons’ protection, the races felt like abandoned children left alone outside. They lost all their claws to defend themselves.
When the dragons finally awoke from their long slumber, what they found was a death-ravaged continent where over 80% had been annihilated. The races that survived back then had now divided and prospered.
Having learned that lesson, the dragons decided not to offer much help. They stepped back and observed, believing that facilitating self-learning was what love meant.
“Learning is just too late, whether it’s then or now.”
Ultimately, the state of the continent had come to this, and it was because they had fought each other so fiercely. It was due to their slow learning. The Dragon Lord realized his mistake, but it wasn’t too late.
They could still intervene from now on. But he wouldn’t forget the first experience. It wasn’t about doing everything for them; it was about respecting the Racial Alliance’s choices and moving forward together.
That was the path the Lord chose after many failures. And all the dragons chose to follow that path. As a result, they descended to the ground with Yuren and revealed themselves.
The imposing presence of the dragons emanated an overwhelming aura beyond mere fear. They didn’t even stay in one place; they intruded into the territories of other races, claiming their ground.
“Dragons! What brings you to this place?”
Naturally, the leaders of each race were on high alert. They had no reason to offend the dragons. They quickly approached and asked the dragons a question. The dragons responded.
“As members of the Alliance, we demand a meeting of the Racial Alliance.”
The dragons politely made their request, but with their immense aura towering over them, how many races could outright refuse? None, that’s how many.
Thus, a hurried meeting of the Racial Alliance was convened again. And it had been a whole three years since the last one. Hans, who had heard the entire story from Yuren, barely held back a deep sigh.
Well, at least they didn’t threaten to hold the meeting at power. Of course, it was no different than forcing a compromise. But since it was an urgent matter, he had no choice but to let it slide.
“Where did you decide to hold the meeting?”
Since the meeting was called so suddenly, they’d probably let the other side choose the venue. No, Hans thought, that would be the most logical conclusion. Yet, the answer was different.
“It’s decided to be at the Thunder Fortress, the closest place.”
“You picked the Thunder Fortress?”
“Yes.”
The Thunder Fortress wasn’t a particularly good place to host an envoy. Most of all, it was extremely dangerous. This place was on the front lines, where demons might appear at any moment.
“Was there no opposition?”
“There was a little, but I persuaded them.”
“……”
Persuaded, huh? Could the dragons who forcibly called for a meeting really have asked politely? No matter how hard he thought, he couldn’t visualize such a scenario.
Hans sighed again.
In the end, it seems the hardship will fall on me.
*
Was it because they had been called against their will? Their expressions were understandably sour. Especially the delegations from the Dwarf Republic, Human Kingdom, as well as the elves and orcs, all sent representatives they had never met before.
Now that he thought about it, he had heard the hardliners were starting to rise. If that were the case, the comparatively moderate former leaders were left to be mere paper tigers. Hans sighed again and spoke.
“First of all, I want to express my gratitude to you for taking the time.”
Only a formal round of applause echoed back to him. Each of them wore disgruntled expressions, as if they wanted to see how significant this matter really was.
But it wasn’t hard to understand why. They had been living their lives just fine, and suddenly they were called like this. So, rather than dragging it out, let’s cut to the chase.
“It’s sudden, but everyone needs to unite now.”
“That’s quite abrupt. Why do you say so?”
“Simple. The demons are preparing for a counterattack.”
His words caused a significant ripple. At a time when the demons’ offensive had already intensified, an ambush could potentially lead to the collapse of the Racial Alliance.
Of course, the relationships within the Alliance weren’t particularly good at the moment. But regardless, if the Alliance fell apart in a situation like this, all the gains they had achieved would vanish.
“Certainly, that is a serious issue. If your claim is true.”
Only if Hans’s claim was indeed true. Spreading false information for one’s gain was the basis of scheming. Let alone, it was a time of deceiving each other.
No matter how much Hans claimed there would be a demon ambush, they couldn’t just trust without evidence. Hans turned his gaze toward the delegation from the Dwarf Republic. There stood a familiar face.
“Banjo!!”
“How did you get here?!”
“Everyone, calm down.”
Levil, the head of the Banjo, stepped forward. Naturally, as the leader of a force marked as suspicious, there were hardly any delegates who did not recognize his face except for the orcs.
The delegates and the knights guarding them all regarded Levil with wary expressions. Watching this unfold, Hans clicked his tongue. It wasn’t entirely unreasonable, yet…
In a situation where a common enemy was in front of them, such reactions weren’t very beneficial. Just as Hans was about to say something, Levil stopped him, indicating he would handle it himself.
“I intend to reveal the secrets of the demons to everyone here today.”
“Reveal the secrets of the demons?”
“Yes. About the queen, the ruler of the demons.”
“A queen? Now that’s the first I’m hearing of it.”
Levil had been passive about disclosing information until now. This was part of his grand strategy to maximize Banjo’s utilitarian value and prevent them from being discarded.
But as long as they kept bickering over their interests, the situation wouldn’t change. Instead, everyone would merely face mutual destruction. Levil knew this, yet he had been willfully turning a blind eye to it.
However, after speaking with Hans, he realized he couldn’t afford to keep doing this and began briefly explaining the queen. He even mentioned that demons were originally just like everyone else.
“No way! That can’t be true!”
“No, but according to ancient records…”
“Hmm. That’s quite shocking news.”
While some continued to deny it, others nodded in understanding, as if they had thoroughly investigated the matter. But whatever came of it, they had to agree that things couldn’t continue as they were.
Back then, the indifference or jealousy of the races had ultimately led the kingdoms to their downfall. The result was the countless lives lost and lands lost up to now. Hans declared to everyone.
“First, we must unite to defeat the common enemy.”
“……”
“……”
“The queen’s blade is already positioned beneath our necks; playing watch-dog against each other here will only lead to ruin.”
They couldn’t bring themselves to respond to Hans’s words, but they at least recognized they needed to avoid tearing at each other in the current situation. It all seemed to be going well.
Boom!!!
A massive explosion swallowed all sound. The following tremor knocked everyone off balance. What on earth just happened? Those questions didn’t even need to be asked. They already knew.
The demons had begun to move again.
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